Trail Riding

A few days ago, I came across a post on ADVRider mentioning a meet with fellow ADV Riders in Acton, MA. Considering the inevitably approaching winter, this seemed to be the last chance to take the bike for one last ride before the snow covers the New England roads, making travel difficult, if not impossible, for the next several months. Understandably, I was looking forward to taking a nice ride to Acton, seeing some familiar faces and meeting new ones, as well as enjoying the promised free pizza. When today finally arrived, I got my gear in order, filled the bike with gas, and was about to hit the road. And then, the phone rang.

Last week, a friend of mine and I discussed a possible woods ride. Having not heard from him in a couple of days, I assumed the ride was not about to happen, nevertheless, it was he who called: “See you in an hour,” he said.

Decision time: An hour on Rte 2 down to Acton, then some pizza, and an hour back home OR a few hours in the woods. The woods won! After all, what kind of an adventure rider would choose pizza over a real adventure.

When I arrived at the meeting place, a fire pond in Swanzey, he was already there, getting his ATV ready. Now, I have nothing against ATV, but I choose not to ride one. I find bikes more challenging, more versatile, and more enjoyable. He, on the other hand, rides only street bikes and would not venture into the woods on a bike. This, however, does not stop us from exploring the myriad of trails together.

The thermometer barely climbed to 30F and there was the impending sense of snow in the air. Unlike the last time we rode together, the trailhead was completely empty, and thus we had the whole place to ourselves. We started on a familiar trail, covering reasonable distance without much difficulty. His ATV seems to conquer any terrain anyway, while my GS with semi-street tires can be a real handful when things get rough. Yet, except a few ice-covered mud holes, the first section was easy. 

When we reached the entrance to sand dunes, we had to turn around, as the entrance is now posted as prohibited to all all-terrain vehicles. On our way back, we passed a Jeep trail where I got stuck the last time, so instead we opted to take the next trail and venture into the unknown. The GS handled reasonably well, despite the fact that the trail was muddier and much more rough. After several water crossings where the front tire acted as an icebreaker, we came to a rather steep incline. Having no way to turn around, there was only one way out – straight ahead. I tried tackling the incline, repeating to myself, “Keep the momentum going, keep the momentum going!” But the bike with the current tires has its limitations. Lets just say the Anakee is no match for mud. I got stuck a few yards from the top of the hill. 

The front tire locked in mud, between a rock and a boulder, while the rear kept spinning. I had to get off. That’s when I found out the bike was about to slide backwards down the hill, and I was not about to let that happen. Working the clutch, throttle, and brakes, I only managed to dig myself deeper, with the front fully locked. And here is where my friend’s ATV came handy. Since no amount of pushing, bouncing, or cursing freed the bike, we had to winch it up over the boulders. Too bad he was operating the winch while I kept the bike up, because that would be a one cool picture. 

Once on top of the hill, we made several more water crossings, I managed to get stuck on some submerged logs, covered my recently washed riding gear (as well as the bike) in mud, and completely depleted my energy level. And yet, just as I was thinking that I was out of the bad, we found ourselves on the very same Jeep trail where I got stuck the last time. What a joy! At that point, I was cursing all the ADV riders enjoying the warm pizza in Acton.    

Fortunately, I didn’t get stuck this time as the mud was mostly frozen over, and after a hair-raising descent, we came back to the main part of the trail, which eventually lead us back to the starting point. 

Two and a half hours after we started, muddy, cold, and exhausted, having visited places no self-respecting BMW GS should ever visit, I kicked the mud off the footpegs, kicked in the first gear, and hit the road home as the first snowflakes began to fill the air.